Hoops

Newcastle NBL team

Heard from a mining mate the other day that Tinkler dropped $100 million on a deal that didn't eventuate recently.

I hope the NBL aren't stunned by the bright lights and look at his body of work because nobody has made a 'super-club' work here and even in Europe, its my belief that the smaller sports in the mix (see basketball) miss out when push comes to shove.

'If you were a betting man, you'd back Newcastle and Brisbane to be in 2012.'
I think Boti Nagy said that.
If it wasn't .. it was Diane Smith-Gander.

I think in the interim, it would be better for newcastle to apply for an abl licence to gain credibility and support from the community.
however from a national perspective, a second melbourne team and a brisbane team is what we really need. In saying that, the Hunter does need a team and maybe this is an avenue to look at. But is the bubble going to burst too fast. Has the current NBL clubs got the best out there? If so, its going to look like another 'Australia's got Talent' when the talent really isnt up to scratch. That makes it a B league in some respects or an EPL with the better clubs able to hold key players and train new guys at young ages, where the struggling clubs from the years gone by just want action. Guess its like AFL also but maybe stick with the capital cities having teams then branch out later

Joint ticket sales , I think is one of his ideas.
Perhaps if ya go to the rugby , you get entrance to soccer n basketball and vice versa , at concessional prices.

I look forward to hearing more about this prospect but still remain skeptical.

It's my understanding that the NBL are very keen to do business with the Tinkler group, after the success they had in taking over the Knights and getting Wayne Bennett to the club. Yes, the NBL are prioritising Brisbane, but apparently they don't see it as an either/or situation, and in any case they still haven't found a backer for the Bullets. (For what it's worth, the A-League QLD expansion wasn't exactly opportunistic; there were two separate bids for both NQ and GC, and the league called for bids.)

As far as ensuring that it doesn't fall over, he's guaranteed funding for ten years for both the Jets and Knights; I would imagine it'll be the same for the Falcons, although they're still in the process of preparing the business plan. In the Knights' case that's backed up by a $20 million bank guarantee. From all reports he's genuine in his desire to be a Stan Kroenke-style figure; they're also bidding for a WNBL team.

Yes - Newcastle did indeed have an independent TV contract with NBN (not the National Broadband Network) but a regional affiliate of 9 (now anyway). I suspect they were probably the first NBL team to be televised locally (back in the Bob Turner days which preceded even my time in Newcastle).

Tinkler (the moneyman) has agreed to under-write the Knights (NRL) to the tune of $10 million/year for the next ten years so I suspect dropping a million to walk away is not going to deter him.

In terms of market impact the addition of Newcastle will have between 0 and 1 nationally on a scale of 1-10.

There is a small but keen local basketball community which has been very effectively disenfranchised over the past ten years or so through the take-over of the Albury mob of the Falcons (which led directly to the demise of the Falcons) and then the well-intentioned but poorly-funded Hunter Pirates. Newcastle basketball has done little to show it is keen to move forward in the past few years so in my humble opinion it would need to be a red-hot, iron-clad guaranteed bid to get a start.

Very good points Paul.

I have never thought about the depth of the league as it stands from this past season and I can see your points on what furher exapansion could do from a spectator point of view but also from a marketing perspective with the primary focus on each team on fewer players (or that essence in any case).

As Isaac was alluding to, how do you get someone to commit for say 10 years to backing the team? It would have to be some kind of financial penalty, but I'm not quite sure $1m is enough in this particular case. the league has been hurt significantly by team collapses in the past and this needs to be avoided at all costs. I would argue the negatives associated with these teams disappearing has cost the league far more than $1m in costs, damage to image and reputation. Probably too hard to put a figure on it...but you get my drift.

^^ HO is 100% on the money.

In business there is always a place for opportunism, however it still has to fit in with the overall strategic plan.

I'm not quite sure that Newcastle fits in in the greater scheme of things.

I would like to see the business model if they had one.

A capital city team makes sense because you have the population there. Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, Auckland and Sydney tick that box and within that population, you can find supporters.

Regional support is different. From what I can tell, Cairns and Gold Coast budget on tourists to fill seats, Wollongong is a funny old steel town, but has the history, and Townsville - am I missing something here? They must be basketball fanatics.

Newcastle (or the Hunter) has got about 500-600,000 people and is growing fast, but every Nova Castrian I have met prays to the rugby league gods and is more interested in surfing than basketball. I think they like to fish for flatheads in the Lake in their spare time. They have the people, but do they have the support now and into the future? Just because is has the population doesn't mean you'll get the support.

Tinkler would be well advised to understand why the previous Hunter team failed and what he will need to do differently to sustain a team into the future.

Anon: When did you hear that?

Flames11: If history has taught us anything, it's that Newcastle interests and Canberra teams don't mix.